quill vs. dub bodies

many of the popular mountain/intermountain dries use quill bodies (if I named them all my hands would cramp up), but there are some dry patterns that still call for dubbed bodies despite the decades they've had to evolve from one tyer to another.

here's my question: do you prefer quill bodies or dub bodies? If a pattern calls specifically for a certain quill or dubbing do you use it or do you use whatever matches closely and use that?

And!

If a quill is called for have you ever tried dubbing instead or vice versa?

In case you can't tell, I'm bored. Someone please post another swap on the swap board.

I greatly prefer quill bodied flies though I don't use them exclusively. They are prettier (to me - not sure if the fish think that too) and I think I fish them with more confidence. I'll often tie my Adams' with a grey quill body rather than the standard muskrat dubbing. On several occasions I've fished the same area of a stream with both the dubbed and quill bodied Adams and it didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever to the fish. I ended up catching about the same size and number of trout on both styles of fly. For some reason my quill bodied flies tend to look just a little more "buggy" to me and I'm able to achieve a really fine, tapered body and...well they just "look right" to me.

That being said though, one of my absolute favorite patterns is the Parachute Hare's Ear, which obviously does not use a quill body. So I guess I like both styles of fly (and biot bodied ones too).

-Darryl

I prefer using quills and goose biots rather than dubbing. It's just a personal preference, nothing scientific. To me, they look better and seem to float a little better.

I use whatever is handy that I like the looks of.

Traditional patterns are fun but somtimes it just seems to be best to use what looks right in your own eye to whats on the stream. Me personally Im a big fan of the quill body. Just my 2 cents

Trout,

http://ukflydressing.proboards47.com...ay&thread=3060

That's for a lovely wet fly with several color combos.

http://ukflydressing.proboards47.com...ay&thread=3059

This is a wonderful slip winged dry fly. Both are excellent flies.

To get the quills used, take a piece of peacock herl (get it from close to the eye if you can, if not use what you have). Place it on a smooth hard surface use a pencil eraser to erase the green flue from the quill working from close to the tip to the butt. Some people can use their fingernails to strip the flue, my nails aren't that good.

I don't use either for my 'mayfly' dry fly bodies.

I use thread. Sewing thread that I've soaked in a waterproofing liquid. It comes is EVERY possible color (I use only four or five-two at a time for the segmentation). It's inexpensive.

Fast, looks right (mayfly bodies are slim and tapered with obvious segmentation-thread does this easily), and floats well.

You don't need anything else to catch the same fish...but playing with quills or biots is fun...dubbing is NOT an ideal material for a dry fly body if you are trying to imitate a mayfly...that it works at all tells us quite a bit about how much the fish 'care' about accurate imitations...

Buddy

I like the way quill bodies look but I'm too lazy to make them in bulk.

Already went through my AK Best phase (I'll admit to learning a lot from his books and vids). I'm not a fan of quills at all.

Dubbing or turkey biots (they're longer and easier to handle than is goose) depending how I feel - unless the pattern calls for a material in it's name (like the Hare's Ear Parachute already mentioned).

It's OK to use what you want - that is until the flytying police come and take you away for rehabilitation.